For your cinco pleasure...

Try these!  This is what we're having tonight: My mom's famous swiss enchiladas.  They don't have swiss cheese in them.  And they're not from Switzerland. So I'm not sure what the story is about that, except it's an enchilada with a {heavenly! divine! wicked!} creamy white sauce.

Gather together a group of illustrious ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

1 T oil

2 c. chicken, cooked and chopped

1 can diced chiles

1 garlic clove, crushed

18 corn tortillas

1/2 c. oil

3 c. cream (light or heavy)

3 chicken bouillon cubes

cheddar/mozzarella/monterey jack cheese

Saute onion in oil until soft, then add chicken, chiles and garlic and simmer for 10 minutes.

Set aside.

This part is optional: Heat 1/2 c. oil in frying pan and quickly fry each of the tortillas, one at a time, flipping to fry both sides.  Place on paper towels to drain.

Meanwhile, heat cream and bouillon cubes in a saucepan at medium heat until cubes are dissolved.

Now for the enchilada assembly:  

Take a tortilla, 

dip it for several seconds in the cream mixture to soften.  

Lay it on a plate, 

add a spoonful of chicken mixture and a sprinkling of cheese, 

roll 

and place in a greased 9x13" casserole dish.  

Repeat for each tortilla until the pan is filled with rolled enchilada lovelies.  

Now (and this is important) pour the remaining cream mixture over the top and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Mmmm.  Serve with topping options like avocados, tomatoes, sour cream, lettuce, and olives.

* * *

And if you're looking for a good read, try Rain of Gold by Victor Villasenor.  Two different people recommended it to me (thanks, Jen and Celia) and I just finished it yesterday.  It's a wonderful true family memoir/epic that reads like fiction.  Beginning around 1900 and the Mexican Revolution, the book separately follows two Mexican families (who eventually emigrate to the US) and their adventures, travails, joys, and heartbreaks as the two main characters finally find each other, fall in love, and become the author's grandparents.  I felt like I was sitting by the fire hearing a lifetime of family stories: love, revenge, meteors, gold finds, shipwrecks, bootlegging, journeys, desire, God, mysticism, work, family, life.   

{On a personal note, I kept wondering if my great grandfather knew--or just crossed paths with--any of the people in the book. He lived in northern Mexico at the turn of the century and had amazing stories of his dealings with Pancho Villa and Diaz (he was once kidnapped by rebels and then let go on Pancho Villa's urging). Just wondering.}

p.s. How embarrassing; I spelled cinco wrong in that last post. Oy.

Food trip!

Our road trip to DC has 

evolved 

devolved 

transformed into a food trip.

It's all about the food, right?

especially when we're dealing with memories and nostalgia.

The kids had their must-dos:

Krispy Kreme

Generous George's 

Fuddruckers

and I had mine:

Georgetown Cupcake

{mmm....cupcakes}

Good thing we're doing a lot of walking, huh?

.  .  . 

Maddy in China: This morning she's off on the plane to Shanghai,

their last stop before coming home on Monday